Washington rallies after Burrow carted off
LANDOVER, MD. » Chase Young told college teammate Joe Burrow he loved him and to get well after the top pick’s scary knee injury Sunday.
Then, the No. 2 pick and Washington got going on defense, and the quarterback taken first overall 15 years ago led a comeback victory. After Burrow was carted off with a likely season- ending left knee injury, Young and 36- year- old Alex Smith helped Washington beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20- 9 to stay in the thick of the NFC East race.
“We definitely took over after that,” said Young, selected one slot after Burrow in this year’s draft. “Sacks started coming. Everything just started falling into place.”
Burrow, Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback, was injured early in the third quarter when he was hit high and low by two Washington linemen after throwing a pass. His left leg bent awkwardly, and he couldn’t put any weight on it, ending his day at 22- of- 34 passing for 203 yards and a touchdown.
“That’s an injury right there to a team leader that can take the wind out of your sails,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s not fun. He was making improvements every week, and we were getting the offense headed in a direction that we thought was exciting.”
While Taylor wouldn’t acknowledge it, Burrow’s season appears over, too. He tweeted: “Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year.”
Burrow’s departure allowed Smith a to seize momentum and move a halfgame back of Philadelphia for first place in the NFL’s weakest division.